Sheffield United Transfers: Blades may have decision to make over Lys Mousset as Turkish giants weigh up move

The Frenchman has had an up-and-down time of things at Bramall Lane since his move from Bournemouth in the summer of 2019, for what at the time was a club-record fee.

Mousset showed glimpses of his undoubted talent in the Blades’ first Premier League season, scoring four goals in six games at one point and ending the season as the club’s top scorer as they finished ninth in the top flight.

But his following season was disrupted heavily by injury as the Blades were relegated, and he has played only seven times this season so far.

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Now, Turkish media is reporting that the Süper Lig giants are eyeing a January move for Mousset, while also working on a deal to re-sign former star Cenk Tosun from Everton.

Mousset was reportedly identified by Beşiktaş in a search for players nearing the end of their contracts, and would therefore be available for cheaper fees.

Mousset is in the last year of the initial three-year deal he signed in the summer of 2019. But United usually insert an option into their players’ contracts giving the club the right to extend it by a further season – which was invoked in the case of John Lundstram recently, delaying his free-transfer exit move from Bramall Lane by a year.

Although it has not been publicly confirmed that such a clause exists in the contract Mousset signed with United, it would be something of a break from the norm if it didn’t.

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And if Beşiktaş do follow up their interest in the Frenchman, offering a fee that Slavisa Jokanović could reinvest in his squad, then it would give United a decision to make.

Jokanović’s squad is top-heavy in terms of strikers as it is, and the Serb’s wish to sign two wingers in the last transfer window went unanswered. United’s struggles so far this season have only redoubled his determination to land reinforcements in January, but United’s financial constraints following relegation may force him to trade members of his squad to bring in additions.

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